But instead, the Chinatown Community Development Center and Mission Economic Development Agency are now planning to seek a formal rezoning of the site to allow the construction of a nine-story building, rising up to 85-feet in height, with 134 units of affordable housing, 10,000 square feet of space for supportive services, a 4,400 square foot child development center, a 600-square-foot cafe fronting Folsom, and a promenade to abut the future Folsom and 17th Street park on the southern half of the parking lot parcel.

And while the proposed development will now require San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors to approve a legislative amendment for the rezoning, and for the City’s Planning Commission to then approve the plans, the 2060 Folsom Street project has just been granted an infill-based exemption from having to complete a lengthy Environmental Impact Report (EIR).

As the project manager I can tell you that the density bonus was never the primary play, since the site has to be rezoned from P-Public to allow housing. I think the SocketSite writer from the Sept. article came up with the density bonus idea!

I only want it if it is 100% market rate. And gets rid of the 20-something drug-crazed homeless (homeless by lifestyle choice folks! or by criminal intent. That too) that line Folsom there (and somehow create a trash heap every god damn day.)

Oh, and nine floors will cast shadows on the entire neighborhood. #not_happening_ever

And then those homeless will migrate over to join their 100 or so friends in the Potrero Flats.

Actually they’re not “friends” – in the last 2 weeks I’ve seen physical altercations between vagrants on 3 separate occasions in the 7th-16th-Irwin triangle. At least one incident involved assault with what looked like bike parts. These are not your friendly cartoon hobos, folks. No matter what their so-called “advocates” would have you believe.

The only way this is not happening is if Chinatown Community Development Center or Mission Economic Development Agency or PODER (weren’t they going to have office space in this building?) says something critical of the mayor.

A lone BART station is not in any way a “major transit hub”. Calling it such exemplifies the non seriousness SFers have with transit. The nearest locale with even those pretensions would be at Market/Powell when the Central begins operation. Not much of a Grand Central, though.

BTW, the Balboa BART station has about as many passengers as the 16th Station even though it is in a lower density area because it actually does serve as a transit “hub” for the surrounding neighborhoods.

The 16th St BART station is a much used pissoir with a rather antiquated embedded subway.

I have a sort of hypothetical question about homeless housing. Suppose we were to house every homeless person in San Francisco tomorrow. Just give them a private room, bath, three square meals a day, everything. What would happen? Would homelessness be cured overnight, or would more homeless move in to fill the void?

Is there some fixed net number of homeless people that must always exist in San Francisco? Just a question…

Interesting question, Jimmy. I’d rephrase it. Assume a few thousand people a year become homeless each year and we build housing for them. Do they ever graduate out this housing or do they stay there until they die and we keep building a couple thousand units a year for the next several decades?